The Gallaghers, the Maguires and all the lawless, loveable charters of Chatsworth Estate return for a further 16 episodes of drama. Debbie hits sweet sixteen and the Gallaghers are going to celebrate the only way they know how - a party. Frank suffers post natal depression with baby number nine - while Monica is busy re-decorating the house and regaining her womanhood. Mickey goes to college and discovers a talent for porn, plus his 'Madchester' tours in his pink limo get him and brother Shane into trouble. Liam's talents continue to burst out when school discovers his leaning towards genius...

For want of a better term, Shameless is a soap opera-cum-drama. I'm not a huge fan of soap operas, but when they are as intelligently written as Shameless you can't help but fall in love with the characters - as despicable as most of them would be if they were to exist in real life.

There are a number of shocking surprises in store for fans of the show in series six, as well as numerous stand out comedy moments - although, while the drama narratives stretch across the episodes, the comedy moments don't. Therefore themes like Frank suddenly being infatuated with Nora's breasts is repeated the once, but viewed as though it's the first time he's thought about her that way.

It's also pretty obvious that a different writer is employed for each episode, as a number of the main characters appear to change character on a regular basis. Taking Frank as an example, one week he's an intelligent guy whose a bit of a slob, but likes the odd drink and is full of pearls of wisdom, and the next minute he's a total drunken buffoon who can hardly string two intelligent words together.

The first episode, in which Frank and Monica can hear the voice of their new baby, shows Frank in by far the best light. Equally, episode three sees a very articulate Frank called in for jury duty, but after that his character becomes something of a cartoon character.

For the first couple of episodes the fake documentary feel the producers tried to inject was distractingly obvious - handheld cameras and very staged camera zooms didn't feel natural, as they were no doubt supposed to.

One of the most underused and easily one of the best characters is Norma, played by Dystin Johnson. It's a shame that she's not a little more centre stage in a few episodes as this character has huge potential. Johnson plays her as an intelligent woman who is a little unsure of herself and in the episode where she decides to leave you can't help but feel for her as the Gallagher's don't seem to care.

The series finale is a rather touching affair, however I couldn't help thinking that it went on just a little too long. Without giving too much away... I know fans have come to care for this character, the closing scenes did just seem to go on and on... finally resulting in a barroom brawl to ease the tension.

Extras include audio commentary for episodes 7 and 12; Meeting Danny (4 min, 45 sec interview with Louis Kissaun); Meeting Carl and Maxine (5 min, 10 sec interview with Elliot Tittensor and Joanna Higson); Frank's Alternative Titles (1 min, 32 sec title sequence without clips of the show included); Deleted Scenes and Extended Scenes (6 min, 04 sec); Outtakes (3 min, 46 sec); Alphabet Males (3 min, 11 sec introduction to a Shameless drinking game); and Her name was Maxine, his name was Carl (4 min, 42 sec sketch on applying to be a sexpert, with plenty of clips from the series).

While this would have easily fitted across four DVDs instead of the five that are included, this is still a great value for money collection. Having said that, for me this was a watch once only affair - there's very little here to make you want to give this a second viewing. However, this is still an excellent series and well worth picking up if you haven't seen it.

8

Darren Rea